Having given him so much, maybe the football gods figured it was time to balance the scales and take away something. Something like, say, enough of Colston's health to dilute his dominance and basically spoil his 2008 NFL season, after blessing him with enough talent and circumstance that he rose from obscurity (the No. 252 overall pick in the 2006 draft, the fourth-from-last player drafted) to stardom (168 receptions in his first two seasons, an NFL record, for 2,240 yards and 19 touchdowns).

"You're going to face adversity in any season, and last year was just my turn," Colston said. "There's really not much to learn from it. Just try to work as hard as you can to come back and prevent it from happening again."

So the bounce-back season, after catching 47 passes for 760 yards and five touchdowns, is what he wants. And, obviously, it's what the Saints hope he'll have.

True, if the 2008 season proved anything, it was that beyond quarterback Drew Brees you'd be pressed to name an offensive player - a player, period - that the Saints absolutely have to have on the field.

The offense piled up the numbers at a franchise-record pace, even with its short-yardage hiccups, while Colston missed five games with a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery. And even after he returned, he never really was the guy who tore through defenses his first two seasons; Colston was credited with 16 drops last season, and for a guy whose hands had been as reliable as suction cups, that made it even more possible for teammates to emerge and fill the void he wasn't quite able to fill.

But no one is so chesty as to believe the Saints' offense isn't better with a healthy, confident Colston. No one is so foolish to not believe that when the Saints have him, he adds a special dimension - a 6-foot-4, 225-pound target that makes the tough catch look as easy as any receiver can.

"I think he's a guy who's somewhat of a get-in-a-rhythm kind of guy and can be very successful," Brees said. "Unfortunately last year, he had a great preseason and then that first game (he got injured). And then he's out five or six weeks. It takes a little while to get back in the swing of things, because everybody else around you - the team and the teams that you're playing - they're in a rhythm.

"So when you come back it takes you a little while, seems like everybody is kind of far ahead of you at that point and you need to catch up. So I think that having him back healthy and confident again is great for us as an offense."

Colston figures he's as healthy right now as he's ever been at this time of year since joining the Saints.

Probably, he's right, even though that includes offseason knee surgery this year. Because he didn't endure nearly as much of a beating as he would have under normal circumstances last season.

When he returned to the lineup he was springy-legged and eager. Sure, his rhythm was a mess -- hence, the 16 drops -- but physically, he was fresh.

But he didn't like sitting then, and he doesn't like the thought of it now.

"Especially with a team like this," he said. "Especially with the group that we have -- we're so close -- not being able to go out and perform with the guys and help the team win is hard to watch.

"I definitely felt like I needed to be out there. It was exciting to see guys doing well, but you always want to be a part of something successful."

The only way to do that in 2009 is to get back to being the player he was. Check that. No one is expecting Colston to be the player he was.

"He's better," Brees said. "This offseason, he has come off a different injury (the knee) than what he had during the season. But I think by the time training camp rolls around -- I know what his commitments are this summer and the way he's going to be training, the way he's going to be getting ready for camp - I'm as confident as ever that he's going to come back and be great."

Colston doesn't expect any less. Maybe, he simply was due for a little misfortune.

If it's out of his system, maybe he's due for another monster year, something along the lines of the kind he has had before.

"I think I know what's expected of me," he said. "I feel like my expectations for myself are going to be higher than anyone else's expectations for me.

"I expect to come out and have a bounce-back season, hopefully end up in the Pro Bowl and in the Super Bowl."

John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3410.